"I cleaned up my Instagram feed and no longer feel like the uncool girl in school"

This writer went on an 'unfollow' spree - and here's why you should, too.

Photos: Instagram @maggie_kelly_writer

Like most people my age, I’ve been a member of Instagram since it first started in 2010.

That’s seven years ago, guys. SEVEN. I’ve had family pets who haven’t lasted that long. Do you think they will give the inaugural alumni of The School of Social Media a special name in years to come? ‘The Originals’? ‘Generation One’? ‘Ground Zero’?

Fair to say that it was a more innocent time back then: halcyon days of puppy photos, artistic angles, and the completely indecipherable Ludwig filter. We were all a bit uncertain about what Instagram was, or why we were taking pictures of cool looking fruit bowls to share with our friends, but no one cared. It was fun. Instagram allowed an unsolicited glimpse into our friend’s lives, and what a voyeuristic thrill that was.

Seven years later and the total breakdown of privacy online meant that Instagram had to change. It got weirder, increasingly intense, pushing the limits to remain interesting and relevant. Selfies became nude body shots, captions became personal exposés, and ‘cool looking fruit bowls’ were ditched in favour of semi-professional DSLR photography of the city skyline at dawn with a cluster of hot air balloons floating by.

We stopped following just our friend’s accounts, and started following their friends, and their friend’s parents, and their friend’s kids. We found celebrities. We liked their pictures. We became a deeply tangled network of Peeping Toms, sticking our nose in whoevers business we could find.

When did social media become the enemy?

Somewhere on the timeline of human evolution, smartphones and social media went from being instruments of exhilarating connection to being instruments of harm and addiction. The worm turned. These days, Instagram has become a dog and pony show of perfectly coiffed versions of ourselves, smiling for the camera, pushing forth a narrative of smugness and satisfaction. But behind the scenes, we obsessively scroll through other people’s stories, feeding a growing sense of jealousy and dissatisfaction.

Heavy stuff, eh? But now that we have the bad news out of the way, here’s the good news: you can escape the ‘Why-Don’t-I-Look-Like-Em-Rata’ wormhole. And I’m here to tell you how. Sit down. Get out a pen and paper. This is important.

It’s very, very simple - you just need to pull on some plastic gloves and pledge to clean up your Instagram account. I was given this tip in a recent interview with Phillippa Diedrichs, Associate Professor at the Centre for Appearance Research in the UK. Diedrichs specialises in the effects of social media on body image, and one of her biggest tips to shaking feelings of self-doubt was to ‘clean up’ your social media feed.

“One thing that women can consider doing to improve their perception of body image is tidying up their social media feeds,” said Diedrichs. “Unfollow social media accounts that don’t make you feel good, and follow some accounts that might prompt you to be kinder to yourself.”

It was with an arched eyebrow that I considered her words of advice. ‘Clean up’ my feed? What did that even mean? I barely took notice of half the people I followed.

Or did I?

Like all smarty-pants psychologists, Diedrich’s words planted a seed of thought in my mind; and the next time I found myself scrolling I realised she was right. Every time an image of a certain model, or celebrity, or brand cropped up there was little twist of jealousy and uneasiness. It was a feeling that lingered long after logging out. You know what I’m talking about - that little voice that starts asking why you’re not in Santorini for the European summer, and why you’re not spending your Sunday in downward dog at hot yoga. Niggle niggle.

So, at Dr Diedrich’s behest, I begun to unfollow any accounts that didn’t make me feel good, and replaced them with some very new-agey-type-things like @bodypositivememes, and @selfcarecorner, and other accounts that I would generally delegate to those who were slightly unhinged and/or owners of Tibetan prayer flags.

I followed artists and potters and gardening tips and cooking tips and Lorde’s now-closed onion ring page (@onionringsworldwide, for those playing along at home) and people who make rugs in Peru. My Instagram feed can now only be described as Hygge - look it up - and honestly gives me nothing but the warm and fuzzies.

Eye rolling is accepted at this point, and trust me, I did too. We’re all convinced that we are in possession of enough common sense that we won’t slip under the Instagram spell. We’re adults, right? We can’t, and won’t, be affected by a feed of newlywed happy snaps and Kylie Jenner Lipkits. But we can, and we do.

So rather than dub it a necessary evil and continue on, why not switch it up? Spring clean your Instagram feed, and invite some positivity into your life.